http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/9/commandos-criticize-call-for-seals/print/ Some in the special operations community are privately criticizing the wisdom of Saturday's failed rescue mission in Afghanistan, saying commanders should have sent more than the one Chinook helicopter that was shot down, killing 30 American troops, including 23 elite Navy SEALs. They also questioned whether the quickly assembled mission was necessary to rescue a band of Army Rangers reportedly under fire from Taliban militants. "I squarely blame whoever planned and authorized the mission for the deaths," said a Special Forces soldier who served in Afghanistan. "It was simply uncalled for unless Rangers were being overrun and the ground situation required this much operational risk." (It should be noted before reading further that no one is questioning the bravery or moral turpitude of any of the Service personnel killed in the recent downing of the CH-47 in Afghanistan. ) Competent special operations folks, planners, and leaders fairly wonder about the rationale to execute this mission as it was configured. And these are fair and proper questions to ask and get answered. Quick reaction or "hatchet team" (a legacy term from the 80s) operations are always a tricky thing because the idea is to provide reinforcement and/or rescue without getting so decisively engaged as to be ineffective. Insertion techniques and platforms must be selected that provide the best advantage. Otherwise it is like throwing "good money after bad". Without fear of contradiction, I will wager that serious soul searching and internal assessment is going on as to what happened, what went wrong and how this can be prevented in the future. A lot of the external speculation and uniformed external assessment will not help, and should be discouraged. (The useful kind, I will bet, is already forthcoming.) It is just as important to the memory of the fallen to understand what happened and prevent it (including asking some very uncomfortable questions) as it is to honor the fallen in ceremony and rememberance.
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/Q4WjC4R17Sw/questions-raised-regarding-wisdom-of-seal-mission.html
Posted
Aug 10 2011, 03:13 AM
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BLACKFIVE